FORMER Burnley striker Danny Ings is looking to continue his upward curve with England having made a flying start to life at Liverpool.

The 23-year-old is set to join up with the England senior squad for the first time this week but intends to take it all in his stride.

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Since making a summer switch from the Clarets to Liverpool the spotlight has intensified on Ings but he has responded in the perfect way with three goals in his last five matches.

“My biggest competition has always been myself, how I develop and how I learn,” he said.

“That is how I have been at any level, whether it was semi-pro at Dorchester Town or here at Liverpool.

“I set myself targets. The mentality doesn’t change.

“I’m not one to look at the outside and take all that in. It is all about me and how I work but if you are in the spotlight, you have to get used to it.

“When you are doing well, a lot of people will recognise it; when you are not doing well, again people will recognise it.

“It is how you deal with it and control your mentality. I just come in every day and be the best I can be.”

Ings went to the UEFA Under-21 Championship in the Czech Republic this summer and his call-up to the seniors came almost two years after he was first picked by Gareth Southgate for the under-21s.

But when asked whether he would have predicted his progress in the three months since signing, he added: “I would have said ‘You never know’. I will always back myself.”